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Maintenance of Certification in Anesthesiology (MOCA)

The University of Alabama Birmingham (UAB) Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine and the Office of Interprofessional Simulation (OIPS) will now offer courses for Maintenance of Certification in Anesthesiology (MOCA).

The UAB Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine is pleased to announce American Society of Anesthesiology (ASA) endorsement of their simulation program. UAB has recently become one of only 50 ASA endorsed centers in the United States and is the only site in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, or Louisiana. UAB will offer simulation courses for Maintenance of Certification in Anesthesiology that count towards Part IV of the anesthesiologist’s recertification process. Participants will receive 25 credits for course participation. UAB’s one-day simulation course will satisfy the entire Part IV MOCA requirement for the five-year cycle.

The UAB Office of Interprofessional Simulation (OIPS) offers high-fidelity, immersive simulations tailored for individual participants in a controlled clinical setting. Anesthesiologists will practice crisis resource management techniques followed by deliberate feedback with simulation-trained experts. The setting is professional, yet relaxed, where there are no mistakes, just opportunities for learning. Scenarios have been developed to be fair, yet challenging enough for the experienced board-certified anesthesiologist. Participants attending this MOCA simulation course can expect small class sizes and courteous staff who are respectful of the participants’ busy schedules.

At the discretion of the course director in consultation with OIPS leadership, in the event of inclement weather or other unavoidable event, we reserve the right to delay the MOCA course start time up to 2 hours and will attempt to absorb the time as is possible throughout the day.

The UAB Office of Interprofessional Simulation (OIPS) is a joint venture between the UAB Health System and University. OIPS manages two simulation centers, offers faculty development in simulation, and delivers simulation for healthcare professionals across the training level spectrum. In 2015, OIPS delivered over 17,000 hours of simulation at UAB. Anesthesiologists attending this MOCA simulation course can expect a high-caliber simulation experience. Participants will practice crisis resource management techniques followed by debriefing with simulation-trained experts.

The simulated operating room at UAB Center for Patient Safety and Advanced Medical Simulation is a state of the art facility that features an HPS Human Patient Simulator (CAE Healthcare). The patient simulator includes a drug recognition system that allows for realistic responses to medications via computer-based physiologic modeling. The simulator has heart and lung sounds, pulses, unilateral or bilateral chest rise and fall, lungs that consume oxygen and produce carbon dioxide, reactive pupils and blinking eyes, and includes a gas analyzer that allows appropriate responses to various gases (e.g., oxygen, air, and volatile anesthetics). A variety of procedures can be performed on the simulator including defibrillation, cricothyrotomy, tube thoracostomy, needle thoracostomy, and pericardiocentesis. The airway can be manipulated (e.g., tongue swelling, pharyngeal obstruction, laryngospasm, and bronchospasm) to simulate realistic airway scenarios.

The patient simulator is operated from an adjacent control room that also houses a SimCapture audiovisual system (B-Line Medical). This audiovisual system allow for live-streaming, video capture, and video playback of simulated scenarios. In addition to the patient simulator, the simulated operating room is equipped with a fully stocked anesthesia cart, a difficult airway cart (including fiber-optic intubation), video laryngoscope, and standard operating room tables, equipment, and supplies. The anesthesia machine is a fully functioning GE Anesthesia Delivery Unit (ADU) with integrated monitoring that connects to the patient simulator. A peripheral nerve stimulator may also be used to monitor thumb twitches based on degree of neuromuscular blockade.

For scenarios that occur out of the operating room, other hi-fidelity simulated patient rooms are available in the Center. These rooms utilize a variety of patient simulators including iStan (CAE Healthcare) and SimMan® 3G (Laerdal). For simulations involving parturients, SimMom® (Laerdal) is also available.

Birmingham is a medium-size city in north-central Alabama with so much to offer. The city has a strong history of steel manufacturing and Civil Rights, which are highlighted in some of the local attractions including The Vulcan Statue, Sloss Furnaces, and the Civil Rights Institute.

We highly recommend that you make your reservation at one of the hotels below. Contact your hotel for driving directions into the city and to their locations.**Denotes preferred hotels located within walking distance of the UAB MOCA Course.